Inescapable: The Daughter of Hecate
by ReynaMadridistaxx
Summary: After being kidnapped by empousai on her estranged mother Hecate's orders, Mara Raine Lewis is forced to join Kronos's forces and stumbles upon a world she has never imagined before. A Percy Jackson fanfic from the POV of the enemy's side.
1. I Get Attacked By My Mom's Workforce

"**Vengeance is mine, I will repay."**

—Romans 12:19

**Chapter One** – I Get Attacked by My Mom's Workforce

I had almost gotten it. Almost.

Summoning all my willpower, the crumpled-up ball of sketchbook paper had risen to my eye level for just about one hundred twelve seconds—only a second short to become my new personal best!—before the pressure collecting in my head had become too much and I had to let go, watching the paper drop soundlessly to the ground. Temples pulsing along with the background ache in my forehead from concentrating so much, I let out a silent, frustrated scream and angrily kicked the makeshift ball away. Mistake. It only rolled a few feet in front of me before a draft of wind picked it up and lifted it to the sky, sailing away before my stinging eyes.

Great. Now I didn't have anything to practice with. Cursing silently, I searched my pockets for something—an eraser, a pebble, anything—to use instead but as my hands went to my sides, I remembered that those damned pleated skirts didn't have pockets. Discouraged, I kicked the pinecones in front of me, sending them soaring towards the trees, where they ricocheted right back at my feet.

"Mara?"

I turned, surprised that anyone had noticed my absence and was even _talking_ to me, and saw Jaysen Carter staring right back at me. Oh God, him. A bit embarrassing to admit now, but whenever I saw him, I found myself heating up. I must have been so red then, it wasn't even funny. He's so hot, though, there was not a chance in hell that I would have gotten him. Dirty-blond hair that's slightly wind-blown, a perfect tan, brilliant emerald eyes. He smiled that crooked half-smile that was the most endearing part of him and very much against my will, I melted at the sight of it.

"Oh, uh, hey Jaysen," I stammered, "What's up?"

I looked down as usual when I see him and noticed, as always, the ground trembling a little. A fallen piece of bark at my feet shook violently as if it was having a seizure. I tried to control it, control myself, but my heart must have been racing so frantically that I just made the bark quake even more. It was always like that around him. See Jaysen Carter, self-control is—poof!—gone and bam!, random stuff around me starts to float.

He didn't even seem to notice, since he was looking at me and not at the ground. But soon he would notice, I was sure. I could sense the bark rising higher and higher. It was just above my shoe, then it was at the same height as my shin … I tensed, gritting my teeth. _Control yourself!_ I thought, _You don't want him to think you're a freak like everyone else does, don't you?_ The piece of bark fell back onto the grass and remained motionless. The tremors of the ground stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nothing much," he drawled, as if the mini-earthquake and moving bark went totally unobserved to him, "Just that my basketball happens to be right behind you."

And I thought he had wanted to _talk_ to me. Of course he doesn't. No one wanted to talk to Mara Raine Lewis, the freak ADHD dyslexic girl with no friends who had a record in the Sofremento School for most suspension all year. Oh, and did we mention that she also made things around her float when she was around her crush? Never mine, everyone already knows I was abnormal.

Thinking that he expected me to pick it up for him, I whirled around, but found now basketball, only trees with their branches rustling in the cool spring breeze that picked up. Maybe he imagined the basketball bouncing off to where I was. Confused, I turned back to him to question him on it, and that's when things went _really_ crazy, if hot guys like Jaysen talking to someone like me wasn't already crazy enough.

Jaysen Carter was still there, but he was different. Instead of wearing the neat, geeky uniforms of Sofremento, he was dressed in full battle armor. Not in those heavy silver things that knights wore in the medieval times, but glistening Greek armor that looked way to real. My first thought was, _He wants to show me his costume for Halloween in seven months?_ and then, _Oh my God, he has a sword!_ I'm not lying. In his hand was a sword with a shimmering bronze blade and then all I could think after that was, _No, no, no, please don't stab me._

"Jay…sen?" I squeak, backing away, hands up. Now my eyes were completely on his sword, which didn't look at all like those cheap foam ones you get at Wal-Mart. I should have said something brave, or smart, like they did in movies, but instead all I could manage was, "How did you…change so…fast?"

Jaysen raised an eyebrow and for a moment looked genuinely surprised, as if he thought I knew this was going to be his Halloween costume. "I didn't change," he said, "Didn't you see me like this before?" He raised his sword hand and I gave out a little scream, but he was only sheathing the bronze blade. Seeing my petrified expression, he must have realized he sounded insane and nodded. "This is weird." _Yes it is_. "You have no protector but you've been here for so long … you can't be on a quest… Do you still live with one of your parents?"

Now it was my turn to stare at him, dumbfounded. "Um, of course I do. Do you?"

His expression remained solemn. "No."

I opened my mouth to reply but suddenly a rustle resounded through my hiding spot and Jaysen, eyes widening, whirled around, hand flying to the hilt of his sword. Though I assumed that it was probably a small animal, he remained alert, every single muscle tense. A few seconds passed like this and he finally relaxed, sighing. What great new things I was learning about my crush Jaysen Carter. He liked dressing up like a Greek warrior any time of the year and had a phobia of squirrels.

But then, as I looked past his shoulder, a tall and slender white figure darted behind him and I knew then that it wasn't a little woodland animal. The figure was a few feet behind him and was slowly, silently advancing. It was a woman, crimson eyes gleaming, fangs sprouting from her gums. Her skin was the color of flour, hair crackling flames and … and it was my science teacher. But Mrs. Weiss didn't look harmless at all, and she extended hands curled into claws toward Jaysen, eyes murderous…and hungry.

"As I was saying …" he continued, totally oblivious. Then he saw my expression. "Mara, what's—"

The evil vampire version of my science teacher sprang towards Jaysen on—a jolt of surprise coursing through me—a shaggy donkey leg and a bronze leg. Okay. A vampire with freaky animal and metal legs. I raised my eyes from the grotesque sight that was her lower half and saw that her hands were wrapped around Jaysen's throat, throttling him.

I screamed. Yeah, that's right. I became the useless bystander, screaming my head off. Jaysen's face turned white, eyes huge, one hand clawing at Mrs. Weiss, the other reaching for his blade. She must've been punishing him for destroying that beaker during yesterday's science experiment. It didn't matter. Jaysen managed to draw his sword, but his lips were turning blue and I could tell his strength was failing as he tried swinging the sword to her.

"Get off him!" I shrieked, regaining myself and surging towards Mrs. Weiss. Seeing me, she snarled, and I shoved her, pulling her off of Jaysen. He collapsed onto the grass, leaning on his sword as it speared the ground and drawing in air as fast as he could. I figured I could manage to get her back for him. Science was always far from being my favorite subject.

"Mara…" Jaysen said weakly.

"Miss Lewis, you need to learn how to respect your teachers!" the vampire hissed, but she didn't attack me. In fact, she was backing away from me. "If only I could kill you…it would be so easy." She covered her face with her hands and moaned. "I'm so thirsty! But mistress had orders not to kill her daughter, bring her instead. I could tell her she was killed by accident. It would be effortless. She has no training, none at all…"

I feel my entire being turn cold at her words. I was certain this "daughter" wasn't Jaysen. "Your _mistress_? My mom sent vampires after me?" I didn't know anything about my mom. She left me and my dad when I was so young I couldn't remember anything. I didn't really hate her or anything, it was just that I couldn't believe my mom would employ donkey-and-bronze-legged vampire monsters disguised as science teachers just to fetch me. I mean, I was sure I wasn't worth _that_ much.

Jaysen was struggling to his feet, gaze flickering from me to Mrs. Weiss. He began, "Mara, she's not…"

Mrs. Weiss glared at him to shut him up. "Don't you dare bring up the vampire insult again!" she said to me venomously, "There is no such thing as vampires. We're _empousai_, born to serve our goddess. We were the original vampires, but the mortals always have to get _everything _wrong!"

Jaysen directed his sword at our science teacher and I was one hundred percent sure now that it wasn't a $2.99 fake for Halloween. His eyes were deadly serious as the tip pierced the _empousa_'s throat, and golden liquid slithered down her neck and a dangerous growl very much like a lion's erupted from her. He didn't waver at all. Even the sword in his hand didn't shake.

"Unsuspecting half-blood," she sneered, "You think it would be so easy to kill me? It will take a lot to send me back to Tartarus, and trust me, I haven't been there for nearly five hundred years. Think of how easy it would be for me to kill you!"

"Oh my God, Jaysen. Are you actually going to…" I knew she technically wasn't a person, but how could he take another life? He turned to me but said nothing, sword hand still steady and I knew instantly by his face that he had done it many times before and this felt no different to him. I stared at him, horrified, and something softened in his eyes.

Attention back to the _empousa_, his free hand reached to another sheath at his thigh and all of a sudden something was spinning towards me, small and black and rectangular. My hand-eye coordination wasn't up to par and I juggled it around in my hands before Jaysen's sheath dropped to the grass. Blushing, I quickly reached for it and saw that no one had seen that. Jaysen and Mrs. Weiss were too busy circling each other, crouched and ready to attack.

I grabbed the hilt sticking out of the sheath and pulled out a knife, the blade bronze just like Jaysen's. The sheath had just been dropped to the ground when suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and jerked me backwards with astonishing strength. Instinctively, I swiveled around and began swinging my knife around, hacking at the air. Only a laugh answered me.

"Ooh, a feisty one," a high-pitched girly voice seemed to come from the trees, "I like her!"

I only had time to raise my knife arm in defense when a dark shape flew out of the trees and crashed into me, sending me stumbling backwards. My head hit the trunk of a tree with bruising force and a heavy sort of pain washed over me. Dark spots floated in and out of my vision and I gasped as I found another _empousa_ staring back at me, only a foot away from my face. Icy hands were wrapped around my throat, but her grip wasn't suffocating.

"Mistress warned us about you," the _empousa_ scowled. Great. How many insanely violent she-demons were in the employment of my mother? "She has been watching you for so many years and she knows everything about you. She knows you'll be a good addition to our…organization."

I struggled to free myself, raising my knife, but her grip around my neck only tightened to a vice like steel and I had to stop fighting. I assumed she wouldn't hurt me. Wasn't that against orders? I tried to say that, but her eyes were so fierce that only a tiny mouse-worthy squeak passed my lips. Organization? What sort of organization? _The kind that involves attacking innocent people to recruit them, clearly_, I thought dryly.

"Let me _go_!"

"Not unless you let us take you with us," the _empousa_ says cruelly, baring her fangs in a caricature of a smile.

"Where?"

"To see your mother."

Fear shot through me. I understood. These people were crazy kidnappers dressed up realistically as vampire wannabees who used lies about taking me to my mom so I would allow myself to be led away. _Yeah, riiiiight_. But then … the mention of my mother again stirred up even more nostalgia and I found myself wanting to believe that she was out there, that she wanted me to be taken to her.

That was impossible, but I thought I might as well pull the daddy card. "Look, if you want money, I'll give you my dad's number. He's a successful lawyer. You know Maxwell Lewis? He's loaded with cash. He'll give you as much as you want as long as you let me—"

The _empousa_ laughed. "You think I'm a kidnapper! You think your science teacher and I are here to take you and hold you ransom so your papa can make us rich. You don't believe that we're actual _empousai_, that we're only disguised as them. Though your stubbornness to remain ignorant is admirable, I must…how do you humans say it these days? Burst your bubble? Well, I must burst your bubble then."

I blinked. What was she talking about? This couldn't be real. It must all be a dream. I mean, _Jaysen_ _Carter_—or anyone—talking to me, then bringing out the Greek armor and bronze sword, _then_ the demon science teachers and their friends blathering about my mom hiring them to get me. Yes. It must be a nightmare and dream mixed together—a dream-mare?

"Mara, honey, do you believe in Greek mythology? Gods and Titans and the like?"

"I'm Christian," I said, but she only looked puzzled, "You know, church on Sunday? Jesus is Savior?"

"Pfft! You humans and your silly religions. That is a completely different matter. As much as I hate to say this, the gods are real and very much alive. The tales of old are not mere stories, the mortals just can't tell between fiction and non-fiction. Hmph! As for your mother, she is one of the gods and my mistress. Hecate, the goddess of magic."

_Haha. Nice try_, I thought, _My mom is the goddess of magic._ But then I thought of the first time I discovered my strange talents. When I was in kindergarten, Augustine Smith had taken the dolls I intended to play with, but as soon as she began role-playing tea party with them, they completely fell apart by themselves. In grade three, I had received my first detention but I was dismissed minutes into the session after my teacher, while organizing her shelves, had a stack of dictionaries and thesauruses fall onto her head. Then only two years ago, in grade six, I got kicked out of the Watson-Smith Academy after getting ticked off at a bully at a trip to the museum and having a stone statue of a Native American landing on his legs and breaking them. Yeah, I know those were pretty evil things, but they were accidents (okay, even though I don't regret landing a bunch of dictionaries on Mrs. Bourne). It couldn't have been ordinary. It must have been…

"Magic." I echoed the _empousa_.

"Yes, foolish half-blood. You're half-god, half-mortal. That is why you possess abilities that are not…normal to the human world. Your godly side makes you a target for monsters—"

"Like you?"

The _empousa_ hissed like an annoyed cat, coming closer to me. My blood pressure increased sevenfold at the sight of those fangs getting closer and closer to me. "Yes, it's true. We're monsters, but us _empousai_ are smarter, and we are high-ranked servants of your mother." Then she released me and stepped backwards, now six feet away from me. "So, will you come willingly or by force?"

Let a monster—that smelled like Eau de Barnyard Animal, no less—take me to my mother, some magical Greek goddess? It was only a few days to March Break, though, and Dad would notice I was missing. But to see Mom? She wanted to see me, after fourteen years and honestly, I wanted to see her too even when I knew she abandoned us. But then, if she was an all-powerful goddess, why couldn't she come and pick me up herself? Leave a note for the school giving me an early holiday, drop in to say hello to Dad. Why did she have to send two bloodthirsty, donkey-ish vampires—excuse me, _empousai—_after me?

I raised my knife and pointed it at her, and at once knew how weak and insignificant I was against the might of an _empousa_. Too late. She exposed her fangs again with her attempt at a broad smile. Those were the only weapons she needed, since anyone could tell those teeth could rip through any flesh like it was butter.

"Force? It doesn't matter to me!" she screeches, and pounces on me, clawed hands outstretched like Mrs. Weiss' had been. I barely managed to step to the side of her attack, and she barreled into the tree like a maddened bull, shrieking as she slammed into the trunk, blinded momentarily and tearing with her nails at the bark right beside me. My mind seemed to be on autopilot, and the next thing I knew Jaysen's knife was hilt-deep in the _empousa_'s back, golden oil-like liquid making a glove on my hand. I heard her sputtering, cursing and then—all I remembered was something light and powdery raining on me, like sugar frosting, dusting my hair. But when some got in my mouth, bitterness exploded in my tongue and I spat it out.

All was still. I opened my eyes a crack, scared of what hideous mess would await me. I imagined a bloody _empousa_ corpse, her strange golden blood splattered all over her donkey leg, back torn apart by my knife, her insides open for all the world to see. The police would find me, track me down some way or another and I'll be in huge trouble, even if my dad was a lawyer. But when my vision refocused, all I saw was the remains of the _empousa_. Nothing remained except for a small harmless-looking pile of yellow powder and a single tooth, one of her fangs.

Gingerly, I bent down, hesitating a little. I half-expected the yellow powder to explode, revealing the _empousa_, who would laugh, "You stupid demigod! You fell for my distraction powder!" before finishing me off. With my knife, I poked the tooth, shudders running through me. No movement. Heart pounding in my ears, I picked up the fang with my thumb and forefinger, trying not to think about where that tooth had been previously.

I stood alone in the small clearing, holding a knife and a vampire's tooth. I actually felt a little good about myself about that, like I had achieved something great. Mara Raine Lewis's life checklist. Get a hot guy to talk to me—check! He even paid attention for nearly two minutes. Find out who your mother is—check! Some Greek goddess that controls all magic. Awesome. And finally, destroy Mom's employees and turn them into dust particles—well…that's half-done.

_Jaysen!_ I spun around, ready to dash in there to help him, but that was when I also realized how silent it was. Shouldn't I have heard anything? The clang of his sword on her bronze leg or Mrs. Weiss's maniacal laugh? Maybe Jaysen killed her and went back to his basketball game without telling me. Or maybe Mrs. Weiss defeated him and was just lying in wait for—

_CRACK!_ I jumped a foot in the air and nearly fell on my butt at the sound, and saw the ground was shaking again. Searching the ground with my eyes, I saw that nothing was floating. I didn't cause it. The ground continued to shake violently, so violently that it almost knocked me off my feet. I placed a hand on the tree to steady myself, my fingers running across a triangular mark indented into the bark. Memories shot through me. Something about a Greek who lived long ago…

There was no time to ponder over such trivial things. An earsplitting shriek rang out and the next thing I knew, there was a familiar bronze sword stuck solidly into the wood, only a few inches above my head. _His_ sword.

"_Jaysen!_" I screamed, terrified, and daring to look over my shoulder, I saw him, barely able to stand up, struggling to get to me. Behind him, Mrs. Weiss walked at a leisurely pace, smiling from ear to ear. Red blood—definitely not hers—dribbled down the corner of her mouth. Oh, God. Oh my God. "Jaysen!" Trying to ignore the earthquake, I surged towards him. There was another _CRACK!_ behind me but I ignored it this time. I took Jaysen's hand, holding it tightly and pulled him behind me, as if _I _could protect him from the wrath of Mrs. Weiss.

She only laughed in my face. "Strange things are happening, half-blood," she hissed, continuing to advance. "Mighty things. A new Golden Age is coming upon us, and you are destined to be part of it." Her eyes flickered over my shoulder and her smile grew even wider, if that were possible. "The door has opened. We have no other business here, daughter of Hecate."

Then, even faster than the other _empousa_, she lunged towards us with the swiftness of a speeding bullet. Before I could even blink, firm, cold hands grasped me tightly and sent me shooting backwards. Nothing broke my fall and I fell into an endless pit with Jaysen Carter and my science teacher.


	2. We Brave the Maze on Flying Nikes

**Chapter Two** – We Brave the World's Hardest Maze On Flying Nikes

I was shrouded in darkness, breathing heavily, heart racing hundreds of miles an hour. A shadow of a childhood fear settles inside me and I wish I had a flashlight. It's literally pitch black at there. When I looked down, I couldn't even see my hands. _Mara, you're fourteen turning fifteen in a few days_, I told myself, _You shouldn't be scared of the dark._ But all I could think of was when I was younger, seven or eight, and trying to convince myself there were no monsters in the dark. Staring up at cheap glow-in-the-dark stars stuck up on the ceiling, bathed in the glow of a night light. Obviously, there was never anything lurking beneath my bed or anything, and I got past that silly childish fear of monsters but as soon as I heard the laugh I was pretty sure that fear hadn't completely gone; it wasn't even gone at all.

_Daughter of Hecate_, a deep, ancient voice says from somewhere below me. The earth below me rumbles and when I strain my eyes, I can just make out a pit in front of me, _I can see you know nothing of this world. But I can also see your potential. A child of a minor god, yes, but you have certain … abilities that raise you above your brothers and sisters. Join my cause. We shall overthrow the gods._

That voice was so terrible, like an earthquake speaking, slipping beneath my skin and into my bones and rooting themselves there. I shiver. "Why?" I call out, sounding pathetic, my voice quivering with fear, "Who are you, anyway? Do you live in this pit?"

A laugh, malicious and cold. _I have watched you for much of your life, Mara Raine Lewis. Alone, forsaken, abandoned by a father who never had time for you. Hounded by monsters again and again._ The darkness shifted into bright colors and I suddenly found myself in a memory. Playing in a sandbox with Sandra, one of my only friends at that time, and then a rabid dog chasing after me. I had barely escaped without any injuries. Me, in grade six, standing outside waiting for my dad to pick me up. After leaving ten voicemails for him, some creepy guy wearing a trench coat in the middle of June started stalking me. I ran to the back of the school just as my dad pulled in, looking annoyed. The man was gone.

The scene faded to darkness again and I was standing at the edge of the pit again, trembling even more from the terror of those memories. As if sensing how scared I was, the voice laughed again. _The gods are foolish; they find a mortal, they fall in love and they leave, as if their child means nothing to them. But my army and I…we shall cut them to pieces and punish them. Join me._

I didn't know what to say. He had a point. According to my dad, Mom just left us a few weeks after I was born. Of course, I can't grieve something I never had, and I had forgotten her absence over the years, but now that he brought it up. Even when those_ empousai_ brought it up… it made my chest hurt. I mean, come on, it wouldn't hurt to see your kid once in a while.

But still, she was a goddess. I didn't think she had enough time to visit her loser children—like me—or see her old lovers. I guessed my dad wasn't the love of her life, seeing that she was immortal. _But then, since she's immortal_, the ADHD part of me said, _then how do you chop her up into pieces?_

As if reading my thoughts, the voice said, _I am immortal, demigod child, but the gods sliced me to bits and scattered me all over Tartarus thousands of years ago. I am reforming, as immortals do, and soon as I shall rise again to my full power. I will create a new Golden Age, daughter of Hecate, and if you choose to join me, you shall be a part of it._

_Golden Age_. I dimly remembered Mrs. Weiss saying something about that. Something about me and destiny too… I shook those thoughts out of my head, not sure how to reply to him. This guy who lives in the bottom of a filthy hole talking about killing gods and Golden Ages was crazy. But then, he knew about those freaky stalkers and who my mother was…

_I can see you are undecided, child_, the voice said softly, _And I can also see that you're in much trouble. You will soon be faced with a choice, Mara Raine Lewis. Both lead to pain and misery—_Great, I thought, How encouraging_—but if you choose the right path, that suffering will not last long. Choose the other, and you will endure a pain equal to Eternal Punishment. So choose wisely._

"How soon?" I called down to the pit, "How soon until my choice?"

_Later. But for now, you must wake, _the voice grew softer, less distinct…

_I'm dreaming?_ I thought, before I felt the ground beneath me disappear and I was tumbling head over heels into the pit, screaming. _This doesn't feel like a dream; I'm actually falling. I'm still falling…_ and then I plummeted to the floor. Pain exploded in my head, and I opened my eyes, hungrily gasping for air. I wasn't in the dark anymore, and when my vision focused, I found myself staring right into my science teacher's face, inches away from mine. And trust me, someone's face up-close isn't something you want to wake up to, no matter what face it is.

"Holy shit!" I yelled loudly, skittering away. Mrs. Weiss wasn't an _empousa_ anymore, but the normal teacher I remembered. Her platinum-blond hair was tied up into a tight bun, not the flames that I remembered. Her skin was still pale, but not the frightening white that I saw before, and her eyes were their usual chocolate brown. Maybe I was just dreaming about her turning into a vampire with bizarre legs.

"Hmph! Watch your language, Miss Lewis," she said, frowning, and standing up, "Next time I hear that, you'll have detention, assuming you live that long of course." She snickered, and half-covering her mouth with her hand, she morphed back into the terrifying _empousa_ with the metal-and-donkey legs.

"Where's Jaysen?" I asked, my voice unsteady. Then, seeing her bared fangs, I narrowed my eyes, "You didn't _eat_ him, did you?"

Mrs. Weiss wrinkled her nose. "Of course not! Us _empousai_ do not prefer flesh over blood. Unless you meant me drinking his blood…well, he's alive," she said grudgingly, pointing behind her, "and untouched. On your orders, obviously."

I went around her and found Jaysen sprawled on the floor, lying on a small pack I hadn't seen before. He looked more asleep than unconscious, but he was behind me and should've taken the worst of the fall. Still, I grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. In response, he muttered no over and over again.

"Jaysen!" I said, slapping him across the face again and again, "Wake up!"

"Meh?" he groggily opened one eye, looked at me and sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "Had a dream … capture the flag back at camp … team lost for the eighth time in a row … had to steal the prizes …" he looked up at me. "Mara? Hey."

"Hey," I replied, "Do you know where we are?"

Rapidly blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he looked around, but he seemed as confused as I am. "Nope," he said, brushing out blond strands of hair out of his face. He seemed pretty relaxed, though, up until he saw Mrs. Weiss standing behind me.

"You freaking little—" he roared, leaping to his feet and drawing his sword. I quickly moved out of the way as he lunged forward and slashed at her. The _empousa_ moved away, though a little to late. The bronze blade sliced cleanly down her shoulder and before I knew it, her arm dropped onto the ground, spilling golden fluid before dissolving into yellow powder on the floor.

Mrs. Weiss hissed, incensed. "Foolish son of Hermes! You think my death will be enough to save your little camp? My lord Kronos is rising and your camp shall be the first to burn! He will destroy your precious Mount Olympus after, brick by brick…"

"That is enough coming from you," Jaysen said, though he paled at her words. As our science teacher surged towards him, he sidestepped before whirling around and stabbing his sword at her. It was probably aimed at her chest, seeing its angle, but she crouched and the blade sank into her head, hilt-deep. I could see the other end sticking out of the back of her head and I prayed that I wouldn't puke all over them. Mrs. Weiss screamed, the flames in her hair crackling even louder, angrier and he pulled out his sword, backing away as she began to dissolve. In no time, all that was left in front of us were two piles of powder.

I stared at him in amazement, wondering where he had gotten those crazy ninja skills. He looked a little surprised at himself, too, staring at the remains of the _empousa_, then at his weapon. Jaysen turned his emerald eyes to me, chest heaving a little. He looked shaken, and I could tell it was Mrs. Weiss' words that bothered him the most.

"What did she mean, burning your camp? Don't you live at Sofremento, like me?"

Jaysen sighed heavily and sat on the floor, sheathing his sword calmly as if he hadn't just stabbed someone—or something, whatever—in the head with it. Uneasily, I sat down next to him and his expression grew distant, even when he looked at me.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said, "Something about this world."

"Greek gods exist? Another _empousa_ told me."

"When?"

"When you were fighting Weiss the first time. I killed her after."

"Good job," Jaysen nodded, impressed and a little thrill of happiness went through me, "Anyway, I'm probably guessing she didn't tell you all of it. It's hard for gods to break their habits; thousands of years ago they had children with mortals, thousands of years later they are still. And, well, there's a lot of children, called demigods or half-bloods. I'm a son of Hermes, like Weiss said. Anyway, demigods attract monsters so we tend to die easily, unless we're trained well to kill them. We go to Camp Half-Blood to train. We go on quests to prove our bravery."

"So? What's that have to do with me?"

"More than you think. Children of the minor gods, too, go to camp, but what's strange is that you don't have a protector, looking after you so the monsters don't kill you before you get there. So I'm surprised you're still alive… I mean, I've been going to camp since I was seven and before then I always had a protector."

"But… weren't you attending the Sofremento School for years? I've known you for two years."

"It's not real. You think we can walk around carrying weapons in front of mortals, regular people? There's something called the Mist that hides certain things, like monsters' true appearances so they look like something ordinary. Sometimes the Mist is so powerful, it can even alter memories and fools demigods. Mara, I only arrived at Sofremento _two days ago_. The Mist just changed your memories so you _think_ you've known me for two years. I only came because I'm on a quest to eradicate a monster-infested school. After brief studying, I noticed you were the lone demigod, and many of the students and teachers were just waiting for a chance to kill you and—"

_Hiiiiiisssssss._ It was a barely audible sound, but Jaysen heard it immediately and cut himself off, on his feet and sword drawn in an instant. I followed suit, stumbling after him. _Hiiiiiisssssss._ Jaysen turned to me with a finger to his lips and I nodded, remaining silent. He quietly grabbed his pack off the floor and slung it over his shoulder and with the grace and silence of a cat, he crept towards the source of the sound.

"Are you crazy?" I whispered, "Let's run!"

"Are _you_ crazy?" Jaysen hissed back, "You see a monster, you kill it. You don't _run_."

"Yeah well, we're not seeing any monster. Let's—_go_!" I tugged at the hem of his shirt, turning the other way, and stifled a scream as I saw a sight worse than the _empousai_. Five monsters advanced towards us, wearing heavy armor and bearing spears. They looked like women, but their skin was scaly and snake-like tongues darted out of their mouths every few seconds. _Hiiiiiisssssss._ This time, I heard it from both sides of us, and as I whirled around, I knew we were surrounded.

I tugged at his shirt harder, drawing my knife, which was for some reason tucked into the waistband of my skirt. "Ten on two. _Now_ do we run?"

"How? Both ways are blocked by _dracaenae!_" Jaysen said, looking more panicked by the second. Then his eyes glazed over a little. "No, wait a minute. I think I could…"

And before I could protest, he sprinted towards the monsters, waving his sword in the air and yelling something incomprehensible. The _dracaenae_ hissed even louder, seeing the bait and advanced quicker, armor clinking. Just as they lifted their spears to strike, Jaysen slashed at them, whirling around and trying to stab at chinks in the armor, cutting off spear tips and dashing about so quickly I could barely see him.

_Beautiful_, I thought, as he knocked a shield off a _dracaenae _and stabbed at her.

_Hiiiiiisssssss_. I spun around and found the other five monsters right behind me, smiling widely as if they could already tell I was an easy kill. But they didn't raise their spears, strangely. Instead, they dropped their weapons and one of them grabbed my arm. I instinctively recoiled at the strange moist, scaly texture, but I couldn't pull away. They were too strong.

"Yeeesssssss," the monster holding my arm said, "She issss the one."

"Are you ssssure?" one asked,

"A daughter of Hecate, they ssssssaid… sssskinny, with ssssshort black hair and blue eyesssss… she fitsss the dessssscription perfectly. And anyway, it would never hurt to find new recruitsss." the first one argued, her snakelike eyes turning to me. "What issss your name, girl?"

Faster than I expected of myself, I whipped out my knife and stabbed the _dracaena_'s arm and she hissed in agony, grabbing her wounded forearm. The other _dracaena_ tensed, hastening to pick up their weapons but I only backed away. I heard the clang of weapon and weapon from behind me as Jaysen continued to battle the monsters.

Just as the other four _dracaenae_ were ready to attack me, the first one hissed, "No! Massster Luke ordered for her to be delivered ssssafely." _Master Luke? Who the hell is he?_ I thought, wondering if was one of those stalkers—who were probably disguised as monsters, I realized—from my childhood. "Jusssst take her and go! She hasss nowhere to run. The Labyrinth issss inessscapable."

That didn't sound so good. Instead of continuing to slowly back away, I turned and ran, just as Jaysen faced me, offering me his hands. Four of the five _dracaenae_ seemed dazed, lying on the ground, and one had already vaporized. I grabbed his hand and he yelled something incomprehensible to me and suddenly my feet weren't on the ground. We rose to the air quickly, too quickly, as if we were slingshot into the air. I heard a soft _thunk_ as Jaysen's head bonked against the ceiling.

"Crap," he muttered, then lowered a little. The _dracaenae_ were right below our feet, looking up at us quizzically. Then we were speeding off down a hall, flying. The hissing of the dragon lady monsters were unheard in a matter of seconds. I could have been in Neverland if it hadn't felt so cramped. When I looked down, I noticed that Jaysen's Nike high-tops had sprouted wings on the sides and were flapping frantically to keep us airborne. _Son of Hermes_, he had said. No wonder.

I felt Jaysen speed up, zigzagging around corridors. He was smiling and laughing like he thought it was fun, but I felt like my face was ready to peel off. And anyway, at this speed the fear of crashing into walls got to me amd I found myself ducking my head every time he turned and shutting my eyes.

_Forty miles per hour…fifty miles per hour…seventy miles per hour_, I heard a voice inside me say, and I squeezed my eyes closed. Oh God. The usual nausea with air travel—even air travel only six feet off the ground—began in my stomach and with my free arm I wrapped it around myself, willing my stomach not to eject the grilled cheese sandwiches served at lunch.

When we eventually we slowed down and lowered to the ground, I was ready to puke all over those winged Nikes but Jaysen, seeing my expression, stopped me. His sword was already drawn, ready to taken on any new nasties coming our way. But all was still. We were still in a hallway with stone walls, trapped here, yes, but safe anyhow. For now.

"You okay?" he asked, bending over to examine my face, "I'm sorry, that was the only way to get out, and I've been dying to test my birthday present from Dad for _ages_. I didn't know you would react that way. Forgive me."

I waved him away, doubling over for a few seconds before straightening. "It doesn't matter. Let's go."

Jaysen didn't move. His brow was furrowed and he looked a little lost. "I saw those monsters speaking to you. What were they talking to you about?"

I blushed. I thought he was going to inquire more about me, but obviously that wasn't going to happen, even though we had just held hands. I wanted to hit myself for 1) still thinking that was going to happen and 2) still thinking about my love life when I could have been killed by monsters or taken to their "Master Luke".

"They recognized me and wanted to take me to see their Master Luke," I explained, and the color drained from his face again, "and when I was going to run, they said that the Labyrinth is inescapable or something like that. Any idea?"

Now Jaysen looked like the one ready to hurl. "Yeah. I know this Luke," he said, voice strained, "Luke Castellan. He's my brother. Half-brother, actually. Son of Hermes too. He was a nice guy and everyone liked him but two years ago he went all evil and betrayed us, going to Kronos's side."

"Kronos?"

"The leader of the Titans and the Lord of Time. He lost to his children, the gods, during the Titan War thousands of years ago and is in Tartarus, sliced to pieces. But apparently he's reforming now and he wants revenge on the gods and all their children. We're readying to fight him—well, er, his army."

_Lost to the gods …. in Tartarus now …. sliced to pieces …. reforming now and wants revenge on the gods…_ My eyes widened. Didn't I have a dream about a voice speaking to me from a pit he called Tartarus, who told me he was in pieces, was reforming and wanted to conquer the gods? _That_ was Kronos? And I was talking to him in a dream, offered a chance to join him? Jaysen's enemy?

_Don't tell him_, I decided, _He'll think you're just like Luke Castellan, a traitor._

"Oh, uh, great." I said, "But what about that talk about the Labyrinth? What's that?"

Jaysen sighed and looked at me as if to say, _Really? _But he replied, "A maze that can take you anywhere, created by the architect and inventor Daedalus. Impossible to navigate, unless you have Ariadne's string or you're Daedalus himself."

My spirits fell. So we really were trapped here, in a maze said to be impossible to traverse. And if we ever got out, we could end up in Arizona, hundreds of miles away from Washington. Maybe we were already thousands of miles away from home. I shuddered at the thought, then thought of my dad, waiting for his daughter to come home for the spring break but her never showing up. Alone, without a wife, probably thinking of a woman who left weeks after the birth of her child fourteen years ago.

I opened my mouth to respond to him but suddenly, a rumble shook the Labyrinth and I heard shouting from around the corner. Footsteps raced towards us and Jaysen grabbed my arm, pulling me behind him. There were multiple _clangs!_ before cries of pain and then silence. Not even the slightest sound of a foot hitting the ground.

"What just happened?" I whispered to Jaysen, who looked even more rattled than I felt.

"We'll have to find out," Jaysen murmured, and we crept around forwards, towards the next turn, just as we heard footsteps again, but this time lighter and faster. Someone was running—running from us? I sprinted towards the sound now, turning and finding—nothing. Jaysen caught up behind me.

The hallway was deserted. I found six piles of monster powder on the floor, spoils of war littered all over the ground. But when I looked up, I barely saw a thin figure in black darting around the next corner, unmistakably human. Something inside my breathed in relief. We weren't alone.

"HEY!" I yelled, running after him, despite Jaysen calling me back. Pouring in all my energy into my legs, I sped towards the bend and made a sharp right turn, nearly running right into a sword pointed right at me.

I stopped only inches from the tip, breathing heavily, heart pounding to a frantic rhythm. I saw a hand holding the hilt of a sword, then a pale, skinny arm, connected to a body…I dared to look up and found myself staring right back at the face of a dark-haired boy who looked no older than fifteen. He was pale and thin, with a Japanese profile, but he was handsome too, despite a frayed black eye patch covering one eye. His other eye was set into a glare, fixing me with a venomous look.

I took a step back and he didn't clear the gap between us. Instead, his face softened a little and he sheathed his sword, turned and ran. I didn't follow him.


End file.
